Shanghai Airlines to buy two Boeing 767-300ER planes

BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT

20th August, 2005: Shanghai Airlines, a regional carrier based in commercial hub of Shanghai, has signed an agreement to acquire two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft at the catalogue price of about $256 million.

The carrier would take the delivery of the two aircraft in July and November 2006. The airline earlier this month signed a contract to buy nine Boeing 787s, part of a $5-billion deal for 42 aircraft by four Chinese carriers.

According to Boeing, China will become the world's second largest commercial aviation market, behind the United States, within 20 years. China would need 2,300 planes over the next two decades as more and more Chinese take to flying for both leisure and business.

Earlier, the carrier had signed an agreement with Boeing to acquire nine B787 aircraft for a list price of $1.1 billion. The Shanghai Airlines deal with Boeing came as the US airplane maker agreed a series of deals to supply 42 jets to China's four major airlines this week.

Air China and China Eastern Airlines have both reached agreements with the aircraft manufacturer to buy 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, while China Southern Airlines has placed an order for three B787-800 jets.

Boeing is expecting to win contracts for 18 additional 787 jets from Chinese carriers, as part of a previously announced commitment by China.

China's air-passenger traffic will grow by 7.3 per cent annually until 2023, faster than the global average of 5.2 per cent expected to record during the same period, Boeing had said earlier.

China's government-owned airlines may buy 2,293 airplanes over the next 20 years worth $183 billion, it said.